Songwriting Bootcamp

Find out how chart-topping hits are written with our songwriting bootcamp

Course Instructors

Jake Shillingford

SONGWRITING COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Cliff Masterson

COMPOSITION COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Bob James

MUSIC BUSINESS COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Jez Ashurst

SONGWRITING/PRODUCTION COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Martin Sutton

FOUNDER & HEAD COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Jake Shillingford

SONGWRITING COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Jake is the founder of the 90s cult orchestral alternative band My Life Story, releasing three successful albums and six top forty singles. Steve Lamacq described Jake as “One of our finest lyricists”. Jake went on to replace Terry Hall in a late incarnation of The Specials, then began compering and co-promoting bands at London club The Panic Station, booking early shows for The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and My Bloody Valentine.

My Life Story went on to collaborate with with PJ Proby, Marc Almond, Morrissey, The Wonderstuff and headlined over Oasis. He has been described as one of the first DIY entrepreneurs , starting his own label in 2002 funded exclusively by investors, benefactors and fans, inventing the now ubiquitous fan funded model.

He is the co-director of film and TV music production company Chøppersaurus. Winners of the Sensoria Pro scoring award and currently nominated for 2 UK Production Music awards. Choppersaurus have written music for everything from Obama’s favourite TV show “Homeland” to playing guitars on X Factor.

Jake is also in charge of Artist Development across all 6 BIMM colleges, responsible for discovering the best potential talent and introducing young, high level musicians to the music industry.

Cliff Masterson

COMPOSITION COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, Cliff has been in demand as an arranger, composer, songwriter and producer. He has worked with artists including Kylie Minogue, Lionel Richie, Michael McDonald, Il Divo, Labrinth, Emeli Sandé, Robin Gibb, One Direction, Westlife and Susan Boyle.

He composed/produced music for both the opening ceremony at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics.

Cliff wrote and produced the theme song for the “Mission Space” attraction in Disney World Florida and has had songs recorded by artists including Charlotte Church, Shayne Ward (X Factor), Anthony Callea (Australian Idol), Ben Montague and International multi million selling artists Monica Naranjo and David Bisbal.

He has been Musical Director for both the X Factor and The Voice TV show recordings, Radio 1 Live Lounge performances by Ella Henderson, Leona Lewis and Little Mix and for studio recordings by Robbie Williams and Ella Erye.

In his work with orchestras he has conducted the RPO, LSO and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at events including the Nobel Peace Prize, The FA Cup final and the Buckingham Palace Coronation Festival.

Cliff has arranged 14 Classical BRIT nominated albums, the current Radio 2 jingle package – including the iconic BBC News jingle – and orchestrated Hollywood movies including The Mummy.

He has been a finalist in the International Songwriter of the Year and Vivian Ellis/PRS Awards and was awarded an Associate of the Royal Academy in the 2016 honours list.

Bob has over 20 years of high level experience in record labels, publishing, promotion and music management, helping his clients sell over 60 million records along the way. He has a strong professional contact network through LA, New York, Nashville, Germany the UK and Asia and is a sought after music business consultant and lecturer with an unparalleled knowledge of music publishing, record label set-up and expansion, artist management, as well as all aspects of digital publishing, intellectual copyright, marketing, branding and promotion. Most recently his management company have launched the global careers of Kelvin Jones (Sony music), Corey Fox Fardell (winner Sony/ATV songwriting award) and YouTube phenomenon Hannah Trigwell Bob is now responsible for running the publishing interests of The Songwriting Academy, Agenda Rights Management.

Jez Ashurst

SONGWRITING/PRODUCTION COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Jez Ashurst is a multi-platinum songwriter/producer/programmer based in London, who has also worked in the USA, Scandinavia, Germany and Japan.

His early career spanned work as an engineer to session guitar work and composing for TV. The last couple of years have seen Jez write cuts for (and with) Will Young, Mel C, Boyzone, Joe McElderry and many other established and new UK acts.

His track record includes the iTunes No.1 “One More Sleep” (Leona Lewis),“Love Will Save The Day” (Boyzone), “Loving You” (Matt Cardle & Mel C) and “Panic” (Gabrielle Aplin). Jez has added his guitar and programming skills to hit records from Susan Boyle and Il Divo, as well as a Number One for Little Mix, and he was one of the team behind the music for the 2011 and 2013 X Factor. He particularly likes developing new talent and has a wealth of experience as a songwriting and production coach.

In 2016 Jez hit the UK Top 10 with Jason Derulo and Little Mix performing his song “Secret Love Song”

Martin Sutton

FOUNDER & HEAD COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Martin Sutton is the founder of The Songwriting Academy and multi-platinum songwriter and producer. Starting as a young busker on the streets of Norwich, he spent years developing the craft of songwriting, traveling the world to work with other writers, learning about the music business and honing his production skills. He is now a successful songwriter/producer and has sold millions of records in nearly 50 countries around the world.

His teaching methodology and ethos have been described as “life-changing” by many of his students and over the years he has shared his knowledge and experience with thousands, opening their eyes to the world of professional music making. His diverse programming and production skills are widely sought after, from orchestration for Celine Dion and Andrew Lloyd Webber to quirky programming and beat-making for K-Pop/J-Pop artists, and rich country productions for artists including LeAnn Rimes.

Course Introduction

This unique 3 day course, held at the beautiful Darling Buds Farm in Kent, and hosted by multi-platinum songwriters and industry experts, will take you through the complete process of hit songwriting from the initial inspiration through careful crafting all the way to getting your songs in front of the right people in the music business. There are lots of fun interactive sessions carefully designed to help you remember the invaluable techniques used by pro songwriters.

You’ll get to spend time with like minded people, all with a passion for writing and become part of the ever growing TSA songwriting community, now having hit records around the world. After dinner in the evening, there’s a chance for everyone to hang out, talk music, play music, and enjoy the odd glass of wine. You can’t help but have a load of fun and leave feeling inspired and motivated!